Definitely both. I don't think of these different kinds of foods as opposed to each other. Rather, combined into one super awesome amazing delicious meal... oh my wow! Where would be tri tip dinner be without green beans? Or a plate of spaghetti without green peas? What about that meatloaf followed or preceded by a salad? A nice pot of steamed cauliflower is delish.

That being said, the meat is the toast of the dish. So a toast! A toast to us!

I like both, though my reasoning has changed since I began living healthy. Veggies are good for filling me up with little caloric gain. Meat is good because protein rules. Lentils and beans are the best of both worlds.

I've been vegetarian for the last 12 years, so naturally I chose meat. (~sarcasm detected~)

I'm glad Nospike mentioned the protein in lentils. I've never had to intentionally search for replacements for anything found in meat - the idea meat is some unique super goodness package is wrong. I rarely get sick, am 194cm tall despite being vegetarian during many of my growth spurts, and have very long hair which some anti-vegetarian people (why is that even a thing?) contend should've fallen out long ago.

Oh, and you do make friends with salad.

"Wise words. One day I may even understand what they mean." - Levellass

Most so called "vegetarians" eat eggs, milk, cheese or even fish. And they wear clothes made of animals, use everyday products that contain something of animals, or eat modified foods containing animal proteins or stuff without even knowing it... Vegetarians are not really vegetarians in the true meaning of the word. And the most annoying thing about them is that at any possible time, they very much like to point out that they're vegetarians without being asked.

This is what a vegetarian is. You are conflating the terms "vegetarian" and "vegan"... You're thinking of vegans, who do not consume any animal products.

People become vegetarians for very different reasons. Sometimes it is because they simply disagree with how the meat industry treats animals. Others just want to have healthier diets than what they've grown accustomed to. There are other reasons too.

I'm not personally a vegetarian, though I did consider it several years ago. Then I was diagnosed with a condition that causes me to lose weight, but I also have to count carbs so it's hard to eat enough to maintain my BMI (I am underweight, though it's better than it was 3 years ago). So I eat meat for the protein.

I don't eat red meat (unless it's being served, then I do for politeness), but I do eat fish and sometimes poultry. Any person claiming to be environmentally concerned or conscious should know that contemporary meat industry is one of the worst banes on this planet.

Keening_Product wrote:And the most annoying thing about them is that at any possible time, they very much like to point out that they're vegetarians without being asked.

This joke is so old and worn its not even funny. Tell me, do you actually know any vegetarians/vegans?

"All those thousands upon thousands of junk foods made for me on the various planets I explored make me wonder how I'm still alive."

Personally I find meat to be one of life's great pleasures. I fully acknowledge the issues with meat - that rearing is cruel, halal slaughter brutal, western slaughter little better, red meat carcinogenic (and terrible for one's heart) and cured/smoked meat even more so, and that the environmental concerns are even more important than the above put together.

But not a chance will I go veggie! I will eat my veggies, by all means, but a good steak or burger, or sunday roast lamb, are just out of this world. I am fortunate to come from a country with one of the highest standards of meat production in the world (although significantly sullied by that Horse Meat scandal of about three years ago in which Ireland was sadly one of the biggest culprits). Still 80% of British beef imports are from Ireland so we must be doing something right. I ate meat in America but the idea of it is quite offputting and I could never quite get the concept of 'mechanically retrieved meat' out of my mind as I ate delicious Shake Shack burgers and 'ground beef' (which we call 'mince') etc.